by Law Wing Man. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-206). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgments --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / List of Figures --- p.vi / List of Tables --- p.xii / Abbreviations --- p.xv / Chapter 1. --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1. --- Pesticides --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1. --- Types and uses --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.2. --- Development of pesticides --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.3. --- The case against pesticides --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2. --- Pentachlorophenol --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.1. --- Production --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.2. --- Toxicity --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.3. --- Persistency --- p.6 / Chapter 1.3. --- Methyl-parathion --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.1. --- Production --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.2. --- Toxicity --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.3. --- Environmental fate --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4. --- Conventional methods dealing with pesticides --- p.12 / Chapter 1.5. --- Bioremediation --- p.15 / Chapter 1.6. --- Spent mushroom compost --- p.17 / Chapter 1.6.1. --- Background --- p.17 / Chapter 1.6.2. --- "Physical, chemical and biological properties of SMC " --- p.19 / Chapter 1.6.3. --- Recycling of agricultural residuals --- p.21 / Chapter 1.6.3.1. --- Definition --- p.21 / Chapter 1.6.3.2. --- Types of recycling --- p.22 / Chapter 1.6.4. --- Potential uses of SMC as bioremediating agent --- p.23 / Chapter 1.6.4.1. --- Use of microorganisms in SMC --- p.23 / Chapter 1.6.4.2. --- Use of ligninolytic enzymes in SMC --- p.24 / Chapter 1.7. --- Ligninolytic enzymes --- p.28 / Chapter 1.7.1. --- Background --- p.28 / Chapter 1.7.2. --- What are white rot fungi? --- p.29 / Chapter 1.7.3. --- Why is lignin so difficult to degrade? --- p.29 / Chapter 1.7.4. --- Three main ligninolytic enzymes --- p.32 / Chapter 1.7.4.1. --- Lignin peroxidases (LiP) --- p.32 / Chapter 1.7.4.2. --- Manganese peroxidase (MnP) --- p.36 / Chapter 1.7.4.3. --- Laccase --- p.37 / Chapter 1.8. --- Why SMC was chosen to be the bioremediating agent in my project? --- p.40 / Chapter 1.9. --- Bioremediation of chlorophenols and PCP --- p.44 / Chapter 1.9.1. --- Bacterial system --- p.44 / Chapter 1.9.2. --- Fungal system --- p.45 / Chapter 1.10. --- Bioremediation of methyl-parathion --- p.49 / Chapter 1.10.1. --- Bacterial system --- p.49 / Chapter 1.10.2. --- Fungal system --- p.51 / Chapter 1.11. --- Proposal and experimental plan of the project --- p.51 / Chapter 1.11.1. --- Study the removal of pesticides in both aquatic and soil system --- p.52 / Chapter 1.11.2. --- Research strategy --- p.52 / Chapter 1.11.3. --- Optimization of pesticide removal --- p.53 / Chapter 1.11.4. --- Identification of breakdown products --- p.54 / Chapter 1.11.5. --- Toxicity assay --- p.54 / Chapter 1.11.6. --- Isotherm plot --- p.55 / Chapter 1.12. --- Objectives of the study --- p.56 / Chapter 2. --- Material and Methods --- p.58 / Chapter 2.1. --- Material --- p.59 / Chapter 2.2. --- Production of Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC) --- p.59 / Chapter 2.3. --- Characterization of SMC --- p.60 / Chapter 2.3.1. --- PH --- p.60 / Chapter 2.3.2. --- Electrical conductivity --- p.60 / Chapter 2.3.3. --- "Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur contents " --- p.60 / Chapter 2.3.4. --- Ash content --- p.61 / Chapter 2.3.5. --- Metal analysis --- p.61 / Chapter 2.3.6. --- Anion content --- p.62 / Chapter 2.3.7. --- Chitin assay --- p.62 / Chapter 2.4. --- Characterization of soil --- p.63 / Chapter 2.4.1. --- Soil texture --- p.63 / Chapter 2.4.2. --- Moisture content --- p.64 / Chapter 2.5. --- Basic studies on the removal capacity of pesticides by SMC --- p.65 / Chapter 2.5.1. --- Preparation of pentachlorophenol and methyl- parathion stock solution --- p.66 / Chapter 2.6. --- Experimental design --- p.65 / Chapter 2.6.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.65 / Chapter 2.6.2. --- In soil system --- p.68 / Chapter 2.7. --- Extraction of pesticides --- p.68 / Chapter 2.7.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.68 / Chapter 2.7.2. --- In soil system --- p.69 / Chapter 2.8. --- Quantification of pesticides --- p.69 / Chapter 2.8.1. --- By high performance liquid chromatography --- p.69 / Chapter 2.8.2. --- By gas chromatography-mass spectrometry --- p.71 / Chapter 2.9. --- Optimization of pesticides degradation by SMC in both aquatic and soil systems --- p.72 / Chapter 2.9.1. --- Effect of initial pesticide concentrations on the removal of pesticides --- p.72 / Chapter 2.9.2. --- Effect of amount of SMC used on the removal of pesticides --- p.73 / Chapter 2.9.3. --- Effect of incubatoin time on the removal of pesticides --- p.73 / Chapter 2.9.4. --- Effect of initial pH on the removal of pesticides --- p.73 / Chapter 2.9.5. --- Effect of incubation of temperature on the removal of pesticides --- p.74 / Chapter 2.10. --- The study of breakdown process of pesticides --- p.74 / Chapter 2.10.1. --- GC/MS --- p.74 / Chapter 2.10.2. --- Ion chmatography --- p.74 / Chapter 2.11. --- Microtox® assay --- p.75 / Chapter 2.12. --- Assessment criteria --- p.75 / Chapter 2.12.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.75 / Chapter 2.12.2. --- In soil system --- p.76 / Chapter 2.13. --- Statistical analysis --- p.77 / Chapter 3. --- Results / Chapter 3.1. --- Characterization of SMC and soil --- p.78 / Chapter 3.2. --- Quantification of pesticides by HPLC and GC/MS --- p.82 / Chapter 3.3. --- Extraction efficiencies of pesticides with hexane --- p.82 / Chapter 3.4. --- Stability of pesticides against time --- p.82 / Chapter 3.5. --- Effect of sterilization of soil in the removal abilities of pesticides…… --- p.88 / Chapter 3.6. --- Optimization of removal of pentachlorophnol --- p.88 / Chapter 3.6.1. --- Effect of incubation time --- p.88 / Chapter 3.6.1.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.88 / Chapter 3.6.1.2. --- In soil system --- p.88 / Chapter 3.6.2. --- Effect of initial PCP concentrations and amout of SMC used --- p.91 / Chapter 3.6.2.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.91 / Chapter 3.6.2.2. --- In soil system --- p.94 / Chapter 3.6.3. --- Effect of pH --- p.97 / Chapter 3.6.3.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.97 / Chapter 3.6.3.2. --- In soil system --- p.97 / Chapter 3.6.4. --- Effect of incubation temperature --- p.97 / Chapter 3.6.4.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.97 / Chapter 3.6.4.2. --- In soil system --- p.101 / Chapter 3.6.5. --- Potential breakdown intermediates and products --- p.101 / Chapter 3.6.5.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.101 / Chapter 3.6.5.2. --- In soil system --- p.104 / Chapter 3.7. --- Microtox® assay of PCP --- p.110 / Chapter 3.7.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.110 / Chapter 3.7.2. --- In soil system --- p.110 / Chapter 3.8. --- Optimization of removal of methyl-parathion --- p.113 / Chapter 3.8.1. --- Effect of incubation time --- p.113 / Chapter 3.8.1.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.113 / Chapter 3.8.1.2. --- In soil system --- p.113 / Chapter 3.8.2. --- Effect of initial concentration and amount of SMC --- p.115 / Chapter 3.8.2.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.115 / Chapter 3.8.2.2. --- In soil system --- p.117 / Chapter 3.8.3. --- Effect of incubation temperature --- p.120 / Chapter 3.8.3.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.120 / Chapter 3.8.3.2. --- In soil system --- p.120 / Chapter 3.8.4. --- Potential breakdown intermediates and products --- p.121 / Chapter 3.8.4.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.121 / Chapter 3.8.4.2. --- In soil system --- p.124 / Chapter 3.9. --- Microtox ® assay of methyl-parathion --- p.133 / Chapter 3.9.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.133 / Chapter 3.9.2. --- In soil system --- p.133 / Chapter 4. --- Discussion / Chapter 4.1. --- Characterization of SMC and soil --- p.137 / Chapter 4.2. --- Stability of pesticides against time in aquatic and soil system --- p.141 / Chapter 4.3. --- Effect of sterilization of soil in the removal abilities of pesticides --- p.142 / Chapter 4.4. --- Optimization of removal of PCP --- p.142 / Chapter 4.4.1. --- Effect of incubation time --- p.142 / Chapter 4.4.1.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.142 / Chapter 4.4.1.2. --- In soil system --- p.143 / Chapter 4.4.2. --- Effect of initial PCP concentrations and amount of SMC --- p.144 / Chapter 4.4.2.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.144 / Chapter 4.4.2.2. --- In soil system --- p.147 / Chapter 4.4.3. --- Effect of pH --- p.149 / Chapter 4.4.3.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.149 / Chapter 4.4.3.2. --- In soil system --- p.150 / Chapter 4.4.4. --- Effect of incubation temperature --- p.150 / Chapter 4.4.4.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.150 / Chapter 4.4.4.2. --- In soil system --- p.152 / Chapter 4.4.5. --- Potential breakdown intermediates and products --- p.152 / Chapter 4.4.5.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.152 / Chapter 4.4.5.2. --- In soil system --- p.158 / Chapter 4.5. --- Microtox® assay of PCP --- p.159 / Chapter 4.5.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.159 / Chapter 4.5.2. --- In soil system --- p.160 / Chapter 4.6. --- Removal of PCP by the aqueous extract of SMC --- p.162 / Chapter 4.7. --- Optimization of removal of methyl-parathion --- p.164 / Chapter 4.7.1. --- Effect of incubation time --- p.164 / Chapter 4.7.1.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.164 / Chapter 4.7.1.2. --- In soil system --- p.165 / Chapter 4.7.2. --- Effect of initial methyl-paration concentrations and amount of SMC used --- p.165 / Chapter 4.7.2.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.165 / Chapter 4.7.2.2. --- I in soil system --- p.166 / Chapter 4.7.3. --- Effect of incubation temperature --- p.168 / Chapter 4.7.3.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.168 / Chapter 4.7.3.2. --- In soil system --- p.169 / Chapter 4.7.4. --- Potential breakdown intermediates and products --- p.169 / Chapter 4.7.4.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.169 / Chapter 4.7.4.2. --- In soil system --- p.170 / Chapter 4.8. --- Microtox® assay of Methyl-parathion --- p.173 / Chapter 4.8.1. --- In aquatic system --- p.173 / Chapter 4.8.2. --- In soil system --- p.174 / Chapter 4.9. --- Removal of methyl-parathion by the aqueous extract of SMC --- p.174 / Chapter 4.10. --- The ability of different types of SMC in the removal of organic pollutants --- p.176 / Chapter 4.11. --- The storage of SMC --- p.178 / Chapter 4.12. --- The effect of scale in the removal of pesticides --- p.180 / Chapter 4.13. --- Cost-effectiveness of using SMC as crude enzymes sources --- p.180 / Chapter 4.14. --- The effect of surfactant on the removal of PCP --- p.182 / Chapter 4.15. --- Prospects for employment SMC in removal of pollutants --- p.185 / Chapter 5. --- Conclusions --- p.186 / Chapter 6. --- Future investigation --- p.190 / Chapter 7. --- References --- p.192

Lui Mei-kam. / Thesis submitted in: December 1999. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-175). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / Table of Contents --- p.v / List of Plates --- p.ix / List of Tables --- p.x / List of Figures --- p.xiii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Waste Management in Hong Kong --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Landfilling of Wastes --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Waste Degradation and Landfill By-Products --- p.3 / Chapter 1.4 --- Revegetation Problems on Post-Closure Landfills --- p.9 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- Compact and shallow soil --- p.9 / Chapter 1.4.2 --- Drought --- p.10 / Chapter 1.4.3 --- Nutrient deficiency --- p.10 / Chapter 1.4.4 --- Toxicity --- p.11 / Chapter 1.5 --- Ecosystem Development on Post-Closure Landfills --- p.11 / Chapter 1.6 --- Site Description --- p.13 / Chapter 1.7 --- Objectives --- p.20 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Chemical Properties of Cover Soil on the Pillar Point Valley Landfill / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.25 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Soil collection and analysis --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Statistical analysis --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Soil properties --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3.1.1 --- Organic carbon --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3.1.2 --- pH --- p.28 / Chapter 2.3.1.3 --- Electrical conductivity --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3.1.4 --- Nitrogen --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3.1.5 --- Phosphorus --- p.31 / Chapter 2.3.1.6 --- Potassium --- p.32 / Chapter 2.3.1.7 --- Cation contents --- p.33 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Development of soils after revegetation --- p.33 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Implications of soil property to vegetation development --- p.34 / Chapter 2.4 --- Conclusions --- p.36 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Vegetation Composition and Development on the Pillar Point Valley Landfill / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Vegetation cover --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Floristic analysis --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Statistical analysis --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2.3.1 --- "Diversity, evenness and similarity of sites" --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2.3.2 --- Association of species and of quadrats --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2.3.3 --- Classification of species --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Vegetation descriptions and analysis --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- General vegetation cover --- p.43 / Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- Floristic composition --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3.1.3 --- Ecological indices between sites --- p.61 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Species distribution along soil properties --- p.64 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Ecological development on landfills --- p.73 / Chapter 3.3.3.1 --- After hydroseeding --- p.73 / Chapter 3.3.3.2 --- After tree planting --- p.74 / Chapter 3.4 --- Conclusions --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Seed Bank Composition and Development on the Pillar Point Valley Landfill / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.78 / Chapter 4.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.79 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Seed collection --- p.79 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Seed germination --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Statistical analysis --- p.81 / Chapter 4.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.81 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Seed bank composition and analysis --- p.81 / Chapter 4.3.1.1 --- Seed bank composition --- p.81 / Chapter 4.3.1.2 --- Ecological indices between sites --- p.94 / Chapter 4.3.1.3 --- Similarity between seed banks and standing crops --- p.96 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Seed characteristics on the four sites --- p.100 / Chapter 4.3.2.1 --- Grasslands --- p.100 / Chapter 4.3.2.2 --- Woodlands --- p.102 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Ecological development on landfills --- p.103 / Chapter 4.3.3.1 --- After hydroseeding --- p.103 / Chapter 4.3.3.2 --- After tree planting --- p.109 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Performance of planted trees --- p.113 / Chapter 4.4 --- Conclusions --- p.115 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Ecophysiological Studies on Three Selected Tree Species on the Pillar Point Valley Landfill / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.117 / Chapter 5.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.120 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Field measurements --- p.120 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Statistical analysis --- p.121 / Chapter 5.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.121 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Soil factors --- p.121 / Chapter 5.3.1.1 --- Soil moisture content --- p.121 / Chapter 5.3.1.2 --- Soil gas composition --- p.123 / Chapter 5.3.2. --- Ecophysiological expressions --- p.129 / Chapter 5.3.2.1 --- Fv/Fm --- p.129 / Chapter 5.3.2.2 --- Stomatal conductance --- p.134 / Chapter 5.3.2.3 --- Transpiration --- p.139 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Implications of ecophysiological studies --- p.146 / Chapter 5.4 --- Conclusions --- p.149 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- General Conclusions --- p.150 / References --- p.156

No description available.

The role of the environment in the development process is frequently framed as a one-way interaction, with humans decoupling from natural systems, and often damaging them in the process. When the environment is granted an influential role, it is often in establishing the initial conditions under which development will take place, for example, through natural resource endowments or climate factors. However, in some extreme environments, it may be responsible for not only the initial opportunities available in a society, but also for continuously shaping those opportunities through time. The field of Sustainable Development is fundamentally concerned with this two-way interaction between the environment and society, recognizing both as part of a coupled system. The chapters in this volume demonstrate some of the costs associated with development in an extreme environment using methods from climate science, ecology, remote sensing, and economics. By looking at places exposed to tropical cyclones, to persistent pollution resulting from fires that burn readily in a drought-prone location, to annual floods that frequently and randomly strike households in a country, we see that the environment critically shapes aspects of societies and their economic opportunities. By no means are all opportunities dictated by the environment. However, these chapters robustly illustrate that the environment imposes some critical boundaries on development in extreme environments and policies aiming to increase welfare must take account of the coupling of social and natural systems.

The Asian monsoon-affected area is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world facing hydroclimate changes. Anthropogenic climate change, particularly the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosols, exerts significant impacts on monsoon rainfall and circulation. Understanding the effects of external forcing on monsoon rainfall is essential for improving the predictability, constraining the uncertainty, and assessing the climate risks. In this dissertation, I use a combination of observations, outputs from multiple Coupled Model Intercomparison Project - Phase 5 (CMIP5) models, and idealized atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments to examine the Asian summer monsoon variability and change. The main focus is understanding the responses to GHGs and anthropogenic aerosols and their differences for both the historical period and future projections. The Asian monsoon is an interactive system influenced by multiple natural and anthropogenic factors. GHGs and aerosols induce significantly different changes in monsoon rainfall through both thermodynamical and dynamical processes. These changes can be further separated into the fast adjustments related to radiation and cloud processes and the slow response due to changes in sea surface temperature (SST). This thesis provides a detailed analysis of the multiple physical processes entangled in the total response, advancing our mechanistic understanding of the effects of external forcing on the Asian monsoon system and the associated uncertainties. In Chapter 2, I first analyze the monsoon-ENSO (El Nino - Southern Oscillation) relationship in observations and CMIP5 models to determine the role of natural variability. Separating the natural and forced components shows that natural variability plays a dominant role in the 20th century, however enhanced monsoon rainfall associated with global warming may contribute to a weakened ENSO-monsoon relation in the 21st century. In Chapter 3, I examine the physical mechanisms causing the changes of the Asian summer monsoon during the 20th and 21st century using observations and CMIP5 models, attributing the rainfall changes to the relative roles of thermodynamic and dynamic processes. CMIP5 models show a distinct drying of the Asian summer monsoon rainfall during the historical period but strong wetting for future projections, which can be explained by the strong aerosol-induced dynamical weakening during the 20th century and the thermodynamic enhancement due to GHGs in the 21st century. In Chapters 4 and 5, I further use multiple AGCMs to separate the total monsoon response into a fast adjustment component independent of the sea surface temperature (SST) responses, and a slow response component associated with SST feedbacks. For GHGs (Chapter 4), the fast and slow monsoon circulation changes largely oppose each other, leading to an overall weak response and large inter-model spread. For aerosols (Chapter 5), the strongly weakened monsoon circulation over land due to aerosols is largely driven by the fast adjustments related to aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions. Finally in Chapter 6, I design idealized AGCM experiments with prescribed SSTs using the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM5) and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamic Laboratory Model (GFDL-AM3) to investigate the relative roles of uniform SST warming/cooling as well as global and regional SST patterns in shaping the differing monsoon responses. While GHGs-induced SST changes affect the monsoon largely via the uniform warming effect, for aerosols the SST spatial pattern plays the dominant role through changes in atmospheric circulation.

Cheng Bo-ki. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-153). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.10 / Chapter chapter 2 --- Background & Literature --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1 --- Why Environmental Design? --- p.15 / Comfort and Energy --- p.15 / "Our Problems: Energy, Environment, and Health" --- p.19 / Chapter 2.2 --- Knowledge in Environmental Design --- p.27 / What is Environmental Design? --- p.27 / Current knowledge in Environmental Design: Thermal Performance --- p.30 / Thermal Studies in Hong Kong --- p.37 / Chapter 2.3 --- Summary and Propositions --- p.42 / Chapter chapter 3 --- Scale Model Study --- p.47 / Chapter 3.1 --- Test Modules Application --- p.47 / Chapter 3.2 --- Research Methodology & Experimental Setup --- p.54 / Testing Facility in CUHK --- p.54 / Solarimeter Substitute --- p.58 / Chapter 3.3 --- Experimental Series --- p.61 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Envelope Colour --- p.61 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Windows --- p.73 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Shading --- p.75 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Thermal Mass --- p.80 / Chapter 3.3.5 --- Orientations --- p.83 / Chapter 3.3.6 --- "Combined Effects ofThermal Mass, Windows and Orientations" --- p.85 / Chapter 3.3.7 --- "Combined Effects ofThermal Mass, Shading and Orientations" --- p.88 / Chapter 3.4 --- Summary of Experiments --- p.90 / Chapter 3.5 --- Predicting Indoor Air Temperature --- p.93 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Development of Predictive Formulas --- p.93 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Parametric Study of Envelope Colour --- p.97 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Parametric Study of Window Shading --- p.100 / Chapter chapter 4 --- Field Study --- p.104 / Chapter 4.1 --- Description of Housing Unit: Concord-I Block --- p.104 / Chapter 4.2 --- Experimental Setup --- p.105 / Chapter 4.3 --- Result of Field Measurement --- p.108 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Perform ance of top-most floor --- p.108 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Performance of Individual Rooms --- p.109 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Effect of Orientation --- p.110 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Indoor Thermal Comfort --- p.113 / Chapter 4.4 --- Summary of Field Measurement --- p.116 / Chapter chapter 5 --- Thermal Performance Prediction --- p.118 / Chapter chapter 6 --- Conclusion --- p.126 / Appendix 1 --- p.131 / Appendix 2 --- p.133 / Appendix 3 --- p.140

Data are collected from twenty-nine corporations in Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta, Beijing, and England. Concurring with the conceptual framework, competitiveness, legitimacy, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are identified as key motivations of CEB. Among these three motivations, CSR has the most obvious direct impact on CEB. Notably, attitudes toward CSR vary significantly among corporations, and CSR is critically linked to the extent of managerial engagement in CEB. With some corporations successfully linking CEB with competitive advantage, the findings clear the causal ambiguity between engagement in CEB and competitive advantage. Several strategies in terms of reputation building, productivity improvement, market positioning, and capability enhancement are identified. The study enriches theory development of the two divergent perspectives: (a) strategic management and (b) CSR by suggesting a theory of strategic management embracing CSR in building competitive advantage, and the latter affirming engagement of CEB in improving corporate financial performance. / Existing views on how corporations resolve environmental problems are polarized with one side seeing corporate environmental investment as a cost with an inherent trade-off between economic and environmental concerns; and the other side asserting the moral obligation for corporations to do so. This study adopts a holistic view to resolve the problem by proposing a conceptual framework of corporate environmental behavior (CEB) through the linking mechanism to synthesize the seemingly diverged views. / Croft Kan, Man Ping Lena. / "December 2006." / Adviser: Shige Makino. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-08, Section: A, page: 3457. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-279). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Development and exacerbation of asthma have long been associated with exposure and sensitization to allergens. While exposure to respiratory allergens such as German cockroach, mouse, cat, and dust mite is thought to occur largely by inhalation, the best method to measure the exposure remains unclear. Similarly ambiguous are the ideal measurement and allergic or respiratory effects of exposure to fungi. As most people in the industrialized world, especially small children, spend the majority of their time indoors, the home environment is of prime importance. Previous researchers have shown that poor housing quality or maintenance lead to growth of fungi, increased pest populations, and higher concentrations of other allergens and irritants. These elevated levels in turn are associated with greater rates of sensitization and asthma in the occupants. This dissertation focused on exposure measurement, assessment of sensitization to common molds, and estimating the effects of neighborhood-level pest prevalence and housing quality on asthma symptoms. The study subjects and homes were part of either the Puerto Rican Asthma Study (PRAS), a longitudinal cohort study focused on identifying how multiple risk factors affected allergic sensitization and asthma development in U.S.-born Puerto Rican children with atopic mothers, or the Head Start Study (HSS), which examined allergen exposure and sensitization in young children of low-income families. From 199 of these New York City homes, settled dust, high-volume air, and nasal air sample measurements were simultaneously collected and analyzed for cockroach, mouse, dog, cat, rat, and mite allergens. Cockroach and mouse allergens were quantified from all three sample types while the other allergens were measured from air samples only. Ninety-three women from PRAS were tested for sensitization to six species of mold using the halogen immunoassay and four mold species using ImmunoCAP. The results were compared to previously quantified specific-IgE to other inhalant allergens as well as to self-reported allergy and asthma symptoms and demographic characteristics. Finally in a cross-sectional sample of 225 children from both study populations, the impacts of housing conditions and pests on current asthma at both the individual and neighborhood level were examined. Questionnaire data on demographics, housing factors, asthma symptoms, and health behaviors were evaluated with allergic sensitization and environmental sampling results for each child. They were also grouped and contrasted by neighborhood using United States Census neighborhood-level data on reported pest prevalence and housing quality. The effects of individual and neighborhood factors on current asthma symptoms were estimated using a generalized linear model. Allergen concentrations were generally highest in settled dust, followed by high-volumetric air, and then nasal air samples. Mouse allergen was most frequently detected in air samples, followed by dog, cat, and cockroach. No samples contained rat or any of three types of mite allergens above the detection limit. While all three measurements enhanced the exposure picture for mouse allergen, air samples rarely had detectable cockroach allergen despite being detected in settled dust. This led to the conclusion that settled dust sampling is still crucial when assessing a child's exposure to cockroach allergen but may be less important for buoyant mammalian allergens such as mouse. Nearly one-third of the 93 mothers were sensitized to one or more molds as determined by either assay. Being sensitized was positively associated with sensitization to tree, grass, or pigeon allergens but not to other inhalant allergens. Moreover there was no association seen between sensitization to the fungal species and asthma or allergy symptoms. Of note, however, interesting differences between the halogen immunoassay and ImmunoCAP were identified that merit additional investigation. For the 225 children, current asthma symptoms were positively associated with early respiratory infections, presence of environmental tobacco smoke, having higher concentrations of cockroach allergen in bed dust, a higher intensity sensitization level to one or more inhalant allergens, and current asthma in the mothers. After adjusting for individual-level factors (cockroach allergen in bed dust, environmental tobacco smoke, and study population), no effect of neighborhood-level characteristics could be associated with current asthma prevalence. The lack of effect was likely due to a combination of factors including: small sample size, self and other selection biases, and insufficient diversity across the study population and neighborhoods

As the numbers of installed greenroofs continue to grow internationally, designing greenroof growing media to reduce the amount of nutrients in the stormwater runoff is becoming essential. Biochar, a carbon-net-negative soil amendment, has been promoted for its ability to retain nutrients in soils and increase soil fertility. This study evaluated the effect on water quality of greenroof runoff after adding biochar to a typical extensive greenroof soil. Prototype greenroof trays with and without 7% biochar (by weight) were planted with sedum or ryegrass, with barren soil trays for controls. The greenroof trays were subjected to two sequential 2.9 in/hr rainfall events using a rainfall simulator. Runoff from the rainfall events was collected and evaluated for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrate, phosphate, total organic carbon, and inorganic carbon. Greenroof trays containing biochar showed lower quantities of nutrients in the stormwater runoff compared to trays without biochar. Biochar-amended soil with and without plants showed a 3- to 25-fold decrease in release of nitrate and total nitrogen concentrations, as well as a decrease in phosphate and total phosphorus concentrations release into the rainfall runoff. Phosphorus results from trays planted with sedum indicate that sedum interacted with both soils to cause a decrease of phosphorus in the greenroof runoff. In correlation with a visual effect in turbidity, biochar-amended soil showed a reduction of total organic carbon in the runoff by a factor of 3 to 4 for all soil and plant trays. Inorganic carbon was similar for all tests showing that inorganic carbon neither reacted with, nor was retained by, biochar in the soil. The addition of biochar to greenroof soil is an effective way to retain nutrients in a greenroof soil, reduce future fertilizer demands, and improve the water quality of the stormwater runoff by reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and total organic carbon concentrations in the runoff water.

No description available.